OHA trustees unanimously adopt ad hoc committee pay plan to raise staff salaries

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the ad hoc committee report on staff salaries (action item BOT‑2507) and to adopt the committee’s recommended pay adjustments and preliminary personnel budgets for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

The ad hoc committee recommended salary increases that would cover roughly 69% of the current workforce (78 positions), produce about an 11% increase in total personnel and fringe costs if all positions were filled, and put new baseline salary bands into effect on July 1, with a proposed 3% inflation adjustment in fiscal 2027. The motion passed in a roll-call vote, 9‑0.

Why it matters: Trustees and staff described the action as a first step to correct long‑standing pay inequities at OHA, raise starting salaries toward state market bands, and help retain and recruit employees needed to serve Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Several employees and managers testified in person and online about pay compression, vacancies and the difficulty of living on Oʻahu wages.

Committee findings and recommendation The ad hoc committee, chaired by Trustee Brandon Souza, said it reviewed OHA wage bands, state salary schedules and market data and concluded that many non‑executive positions had fallen behind. The committee recommended: aligning most positions with state wage bands (B003/B004 equivalents for white‑collar staff, excluding executives where noted), adding every position to a salary schedule so employees can…